Geode Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Kimberly-Clark Corporation $KMB

Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NASDAQ:KMB) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,322,198 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 65,619 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Kimberly-Clark were worth $836,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of KMB. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 50.4% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 7,839,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,934,000 after purchasing an additional 2,628,206 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 20,830,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,615,382,000 after purchasing an additional 997,397 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 331.6% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,107,640 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,724,000 after acquiring an additional 851,024 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in Kimberly-Clark by 506.1% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 758,154 shares of the company’s stock valued at $76,490,000 after acquiring an additional 633,061 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFA Pension Forsikringsaktieselskab purchased a new position in Kimberly-Clark during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,807,000. 76.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Kimberly-Clark

In related news, VP Andrew Scribner sold 4,095 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.00, for a total transaction of $401,310.00. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Katy Chen sold 1,596 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.34, for a total transaction of $152,162.64. Following the transaction, the insider owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $797,233.08. This trade represents a 16.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,096 shares of company stock valued at $689,687. 0.75% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on KMB shares. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $130.00 to $120.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Kimberly-Clark from $133.00 to $114.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Kimberly-Clark in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Zacks Research downgraded Kimberly-Clark from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Kimberly-Clark from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Kimberly-Clark presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $114.93.

Kimberly-Clark Trading Down 2.5%

KMB opened at $97.60 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $32.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.32, a PEG ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.38. Kimberly-Clark Corporation has a 12 month low of $92.42 and a 12 month high of $144.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.69 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.31.

Kimberly-Clark (NASDAQ:KMB) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The company reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $4.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.09 billion. Kimberly-Clark had a return on equity of 152.79% and a net margin of 12.80%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.93 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Kimberly-Clark Corporation will post 7.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Kimberly-Clark Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $1.28 per share. This represents a $5.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 5th. Kimberly-Clark’s payout ratio is 80.38%.

Kimberly-Clark Profile

Kimberly-Clark Corporation is a U.S.-based multinational manufacturer of personal care and consumer tissue products. The company develops, produces and markets a range of consumer brands and professional products, including facial and bathroom tissues, disposable diapers and training pants, feminine care, incontinence products and workplace hygiene solutions. Known for consumer-facing names such as Kleenex, Huggies, Kotex, Cottonelle and Scott, as well as professional offerings under Kimberly-Clark Professional and KleenGuard, the company supplies goods to retail, healthcare and institutional customers.

Founded in 1872 in Neenah, Wisconsin, Kimberly-Clark has expanded from its 19th-century paper-making roots into a global household and workplace products company.